South Shore police chiefs support pepper spray change

Thursday

May 22, 2014 at 3:48 PMMay 23, 2014 at 2:15 AM

Patriot Ledger staffand news services

BOSTON – South Shore police chiefs are applauding the Legislature’s unanimous votes to allow people to buy pepper spray without first getting a firearms identification card.Braintree Chief Russell Jenkins and Milton Deputy Chief John King said ending the FID requirement will make it easier for individuals – mostly women – to get self-defense protection without dealing with a cumbersome licensing process.

“I would rather see those people who feel the need to protect themselves have access to pepper spray, rather than feel the licensing process (is) too much to deal with and go without,” Jenkins said.

King said the current FID requirement is a burden for law-abiding citizens, “yet has no real consequence for those who don’t follow the law (and get an FID).”

King noted that the pepper spray law already makes it a felony for someone to use the spray to commit a crime. Jenkins said it’s seldom used in criminal offenses, “so I don’t see this as being a problem.”

The Senate on Thursday voted 39-0 in favor of a budget amendment by Sen. Richard Ross that would allow people to buy and carry the protective spray without the FID card.

State Sen. Robert Hedlund, a Weymouth Republican, was a co-sponsor of the bill. He said Massachusetts is the only state in the country that requires a permit for pepper spray.

“It made no sense,” Hedlund said. “We’ve had a lot of people, including women, who were surprised when they went to acquire (pepper spray) and found out they needed a license. ... Clearly it’s a self-defense tool.”

Hedlund said he was “fully expecting” to hear some gun-related rhetoric on the bill, yet it didn’t happen.

“If you ban pepper spray, then only criminals will have pepper spray,” he said.

Weymouth police Capt. Richard Fuller said the change would also relieve police departments of the lengthy licensing process for those looking to carry pepper spray.

“Not only does it relieve the burden on people who want to have it for protection, it will take some of the burden off our licensing officer, paperwork-wise,” he said.

The amendment outlaws the unlicensed sale of pepper spray, creating a punishment of six months to two years.

It also prohibits the sale of pepper spray to people under the age of 18 who do not have an FID card.

The legislation defines self-defense spray as “chemical mace or any device or instrument which contains or emits a liquid, gas, powder or any other substance designed to incapacitate,” and it requires retailers to be licensed under the state’s ammunition sale law.

The amendment restricts certain people from possessing pepper spray based on their criminal history, mental health and substance abuse.

Criminal convictions for a variety of crimes, including misdemeanors with a penalty of more than two years, drug and weapon offenses, would preclude people from possessing pepper spray for a period of time based on their sentences. People who have been confined to a mental institution would also be restricted, as would people who have been treated for drug addiction or habitual drunkenness.

The House previously passed its own pepper spray bill, attaching it April 8 to a bill aimed at combating domestic violence. That amendment was sponsored by Rep. Kimberly Ferguson, a Holden Republican, and cleared the House 142-0.

Sen. James Timilty, a Walpole Democrat, said the Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, of which he is Senate chairman, has reported the bill favorably in past sessions.